My name is Yang Yuzhen (alias). I am a 60-year-old female practitioner from Yantai City in Shandong Province.
In the past, I had many health problems, which no medicine could treat effectively. I was miserable everyday. Luckily, I was introduced to Falun Gong. I learned that it is only by following Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and through trying to be a good person that one can be healthy in both body and mind. Since learning Falun Gong, I have always put strict requirements on myself and striven to act according to the requirements of Falun Dafa in everyday life: think of others before myself, be neither greedy nor selfish, be kind, and be tolerant. I have become more open-minded. The illnesses that had tormented me for many years surprisingly disappeared. Since then, I have become a firm believer in Falun Gong. In the past, because of my health problems, I had a bad temper, which resulted in a tense relationship with my family. This situation has improved markedly.
Just when my whole family felt very fortunate for the happy changes I experienced, there suddenly came the news that Falun Gong was considered by the government to be an illegal cult. I was completely shocked, and could not believe that following Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance could be evil. I felt that I should go to the central government to clarify the truth. To do otherwise would not be truthful. However, I am just a common citizen, and have never had much experience in dealing with society. To make things worse, every level of appeals courts have become organizations for arresting people and returning them back to their hometowns, never letting people tell the truth. As a result, I gathered myself together, went directly to Tiananmen Square on July 19, and displayed a poster reading "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance". I demonstrated my determination to follow Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and showed the Party and the government my wishes as a citizen.
This was indeed a very difficult step for me. I hoped that someone in Tiananmen Square would ask why I had done it, and I would have a person to talk to. However, Beijing police arrested me without asking me for a reason. They proceeded to beat me and detain me at the detention center.
A few days later, my work unit took me back to Yantai, where I was detained in a local office of the Public Security Bureau according to orders from superiors. It was very hot then. I was locked in a dark room together with several other people, without water to drink. A local policeman, Sun Tao, for some reason took a tremendous dislike to me. Every time he interrogated me, he always shouted loudly: "if you don't turn in other people, I will kill you! I will send you to prison and let you die there!" Just as with the other practitioners who demonstrated their faith, no one told me what to do. Appealing to higher government offices is a right guaranteed by the constitution to every citizen. I really did not know what to confess. I was sent to a prison. When I was persuaded to sign a confession, I said: "I did not violate any laws, why do you detain me?"
Although I did not read many books, I nonetheless know some laws. Falun Dafa is righteous. It prohibits practitioners from violating laws in society, or participating in politics. As an ordinary citizen, it is my right by the constitution to speak the truth. How can it be considered illegal? I am being deprived of such a right! Just before I was sent to prison, I thought of taking a bag of clothes, Sun Tao grabbed the bag and said viciously: "Don't think about taking the bag. This time, we will let you die in prison!"
Just like that, I was locked up in prison. During the several weeks I was imprisoned, I was subjected to various persecutions, tortures, and mistreatments. Police loaded me down with shackles weighing dozens of pounds. On July 19, I was imprisoned at Beijing; later I was transferred to the local Public Safety Bureau, and then locked up in Yantai Detention Center days later. During this period, I went on hunger strike for 32 days, and became very weak physically. At the time, the Director of Detention Center Lin XX said: " I will watch you to see how long you can last!" I believe that as long as I assimilated to the Great Law of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, any miracle can happen. I did not eat any food during the entire period, and walked out on my own when I was released. Police watched me from both sides. This is unthinkable to everyday people, but this is how miraculous the Great Law of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance is!
During my detention period, a local policeman Sun Tao interrogated me, and thrashed me with a four-edged wooden board at will. My face, legs, and arms were covered with wounds. My legs were swollen and could not bend. It was difficult to stand up or to sit down. Because I was extremely weak, I really couldn't endure any torture. Being dizzy and nauseated, I spat out a mouthful of bile. At this time, Sun Tao became tired from beating me, and shouted at me wheezily: "If you dare to spit it to the ground, I will force you to lick it back up!" and he started to beat me again. "I really regret that I forgot to bring the electric baton with me. Otherwise, I would take your old life!" Even to this day, I don't want to believe that this is the nature of Sun Tao, nor do I hate him. I know that if I hate him, I would not be compassionate and tolerant as required of a practitioner.
When I was imprisoned, my family members went to the local Public Security Bureau and asked for my release. They said that if I died, the district police should be responsible. The district Public Security Bureau called the local police and ordered them to release me. However, the local policeman Sun Tao forced me to submit 5000 Yuan before he would let me go. We don't have that much money or a reason to submit the money. Sun Tao became very upset and claimed: "If you don't pay the money, I will make you suffer again!"
On August 31, I was released. At the time, my body was still swollen and extremely weak. I couldn't leave my home, and could not even visit my parents in the city during the Autumn Festival. Who would have guessed that on September 30, Sun Tao demanded that I go to the local police station? I refused. On the morning of October 2, I went out to buy groceries, and was arrested by about 7 policemen from this local police station. Those policemen swung a pair of handcuff in the air, pushed me around, and shouted loudly: "Go! Will send you to forced labor camp for three years!" People on the street were shocked, and felt that the police had gone too far. These police have already made law worthless.
Just like that, without any legal reason or a trial procedure, without any personal explanation or any paper work, I was arrested again and sentenced to three years. My family members talked to relevant government organizations, but these organizations dare not to look into the matter. They say that there is nothing they can do. A certain department in the city suggested that I could write a letter for re-examination, and they could sign it, but I must submit it myself in person. When we arrived at the local detention center, the detention center refused to let us write the re-examination letter and considered the letter as a lawsuit against them. We tried to meet with the director of the Public Security Bureau, but he refused to meet with us. We tried to talk with the secretary of the director, but the secretary said that they wouldn't look into it, because I have been sentenced. We also tried to talk to other departments in the Public Security Bureau; no one was willing to talk with us.
At the present time, several other practitioners and myself have been imprisoned, since October 2. It is said that a certain quota needs to be filled up, before all of us can be transferred to a specified prison. This is the so-called law! From my two experiences of being arrested and imprisoned, we can only see power and influence being followed. Where is the law, under which common people can appeal? I hope that someone who knows can point me the right direction.
Yang Yuzhen
Practitioner in China
September ?October 2000, recounted orally
3 November 2000, reorganized